Lammas-day

Lammas-day, the 1st of August, is one of the cross quarter-days, or half-quarter days, in England. On this day, which is the feast of St Peter ad Vincula, it was customary in early times to make offerings of the first-fruits of the harvest, and hence the feast took the name of Hlaf-mæsse (lit. 'loaf-mass'), afterwards corrupted into Lammas. In Scotland it was an ancient practice with farmers to pay the half-year's rent due at Whit-sunday on Lammas-day.